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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has not helped himself either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum claims to block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.